Crankcase oil heater



May 24, 1949. s. BOGER CRANKCASE OIL HEATER Filed May 11, 1948 Fig.1.

Fig.3.

5am Eager .INVENTOR.

Patented May 24, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CRANKOASE 01L HEATER Sam Boger, Dodge City, Kans.

Application May 11, 1948, Serial No. 26,401

1 Claim. 1

This. invention relates to heaters for liquid and has for specific reference an electrical heater of the immersion type whereby oil within crank cases of motor vehicles may be heated, or in fact liquid within any form of containers may be heated so as to prevent the freezing or thickening of the same durin cold weather, thereby enabling more rapid and easier starting, and promoting longer engine and battery life.

The primary object of the invention resides in the provision of an electrical heater that may be easily disposed within an opening in the liquid container and then operated to heat the fluid therein.

A further. object of the invention is to provide connection with the current supply in such manner, that if the vehicle is started before the connecting cord is disengaged from the heater plug, it will be removed therefrom automatically without damage. I

And a further object of the invention is to provide a heater that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is compact in design, and is eiiicient for its intended use.

With the foregoin and other objects in view, as the nature of the invention will be better understood, the same comprises the novel form, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, as shown in the accompanying drawings and claim.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

an automobile;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of one of the heater elements of the invention;

Figure 3 is a horizontal view taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure 1, and;

Figure 4 is a horizontal view and is taken substantially on line 44 of Figure 2.

It is frequently desirable, particularly in extremely cold weather, to maintain the lubricant in an engine crank case in warm condition thereby maintainin it free flowing at all times, and permitting more eiiicient operation of the motor vehicle. It has been proposed previously to provide heaters for the crank case of the engine, but these have not operated efilciently. It is the purpose of the invention to overcome these difii culties and provide an efficient yet inexpensive heating means.

Referring to the figures, there is illustrated an 2 engine It! containing the usual crank case 12, and radiator M.

The heater of the invention is identified generally by numeral l6, and is secured to crank case l2, as may be readily seen in Figure 1. Heater l6 includes a housing I 8 opened at one end thereof, and integrally connected with an annular flange 20. Flange 20 is apertured along the length thereof for reception of locking bolt 22, or the like, to secure housing l8 to the bottom of crank case 12. A suitable electric cable or cord 24 extends into housing l8 through an aperture in the sides thereof and is secured thereto by locking means 26. As will be evident from Figure 3, cord 24 includes three electric wires 28 for a purpose soon to be explained. Cord 24 leads through radiator l4 and is secured to a socket 30, mounted on the front of the motor vehicle and held in position by a metal holder 32. Socket 3!) is of usual construction and receives therein an electric current conductor 34. Conductor 34 leads to any suitable source of current supply. It will be noted that holder 32 is mounted on radiator I4 in such manner that, in the event the owner should move his vehicle away before disengaging the electric cord from the heater plug, there will be straight pull thereon, and thereby enable it to disengage automatically from the motor vehicle,

Electric wires 28 lead into a threaded dielectric plug 38. Plug 38 is received on the inner surface of shell 40. Shell 40 is threaded externally at 42 as well as internally at 44, at the lower end thereof. Thus, it is readily seen that plug 38 is in threaded engagement with threads 44, while shell 40 is secured in vertical position within crank case I2 by means of polygonal locking nuts 46. A bored threaded bushing, of suitable insulating material 48 is secured within shell 40 above plug 38 and serves to axially position and hold a dielectric core 50. Wound around core 50 is a coil conductor 52. While the present embodiment discloses the use of three electric heater elements, it is obvious that the number may be varied to suit the need of the individual.

In use, shell 40 containing the heating elements therein is placed in position within the apertures of crank case 12, and is retained therein by lock nuts 46. Electric cord 24 containing the desired wire 28 is then connected with the heating element via plug 38. Housing 18 is then clamped into position by means of screws 22 and current producing line 34 is inserted in socket 30. Thus, the oil in crank case I2 is always warm and in a fluid state. In the event that the vehicle is started without removing plug 34, the horizontal 2,&70,972

attachment thereof, will cause it to easily slip from engagement with the prongs in socket 30 and be removed without damage. Obviously, variations in design may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, metal covers may be provided for electric cable 24, or other suitable material may be employed for the heating element and connecting means.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that various changes in size, shape and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

Having described the invention, claimed as new is: 7

An electric heater for tanks having a threaded bore comprising a shell threaded externally at the lower open end thereof received in the threaded bore of the tank, an internally threaded portion at the lower open end of said shell, a

what is REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,618,761 Landsberger Feb. 22, 1927 1,751,858 Nelson et a1 Mar. 25, 1930 2,000,825 Davies May 7. 1935 

